blueteamnovel Chapter 327 Heaven's Will
Chapter 327 Heaven's Will
Several days later, deep within the Yanxia Sect's warehouse.
A huge pile of Yellow Bud Rice was haphazardly stacked into small mounds, each five or six meters tall.
In a corner, Zhang Lang and Li Huan, two Alchemist Apprentices in their forties, sat on bamboo chairs resting.
"Brother Zhang, are we really going through with this?" Li Huan nervously said, clutching a wooden box.
"When it comes to the crunch, do you want to chicken out?" Zhang Lang's brows furrowed.
"But if anything happens to Senior Brother Chen, we..." Li Huan still hesitated.
"It's his own fault for not knowing what's good for him!" Zhang Lang said resentfully, "How dare he reject Vice Court Chief Sun's invitation!"
Seeing Li Huan's indecision, Zhang Lang sighed, "We're just two Alchemist Apprentices, stuck in the middle. What can we do?"
"You're not afraid to offend Senior Brother Chen, but you dare to offend Vice Court Chief Sun?"
"Compared to the isolated and helpless Chen Mu, it's obviously more advantageous to side with Vice Court Chief Sun."
"Alas, an undeserved calamity!" Li Huan sighed despondently.
A hint of a smile flashed across Zhang Lang's eyes.
"Don't be afraid."
"This isn't the first time we've delivered the Essence of the Five Grains."
"In the past, Chen Mu would only check the weight of the Essence of the Five Grains, he never inspected it closely."
He opened a brown wooden box on a low table next to him, revealing neatly arranged small wooden boxes, each the size of a large fist.
He took out a small wooden box and opened it to show Li Huan.
"I've even covered the top layer with normal essence, so there's no need to fear his inspection."
Seeing Li Huan say nothing, Zhang Lang put away the box and said indifferently, "We've already accepted the Daoist Cultivation jade, do you still want to give it back?"
"Let's do it!" Li Huan bit the bullet and took the lead in leaving with the wooden box from the low table.
...
Near the entrance of the Yanxia Sect's warehouse, there was a cave about the size of two bedrooms, shaped like half of a vertically sliced egg.
The walls of the cave were smooth and even, as if they were cast as a whole.
Along the base of the wall, every two or three steps, there was a bush about waist-high with round leaves.
The branches were laden with orange-yellow berries the size of quail eggs.
At this moment, the berries emitted a gentle glow, illuminating the entire cave.
In the depths of the cave, Chen Mu sat with his legs crossed on a soft couch.
In his left hand was an iced tea, in his right, a beast skin scroll. He sipped the tea with a slurp while studying the scroll's minor notes on herbs.
If it weren't for the need to pretend he was up all night practicing Alchemy, he would have been back in his Secret Chamber to grind experience long ago.
The warehouse was under reconstruction; with so many people around, it wasn't suitable for practicing Secret Techniques.
He had no choice but to read the minor notes on herbs and grind experience in Pharmaceutical Technique.
Right now, as he pondered the annotations on Yellow Bud Rice, he suddenly noticed that his Planting Skill had also gained experience!
"If that Vice Court Chief Sun knew the true value of these minor herb notes, he'd be green with regret! Haha..."
Just as he was chuckling, footsteps approached.
Chen Mu immediately put away the scroll and, pretending to be busy, picked up the black Pill Furnace on the low table and started to inspect it.
...
"Senior Brother, this is today's portion of the Essence of the Five Grains."
Zhang Lang struggled to control his racing heart as he stepped forward with a brown wooden box in his hands.
Chen Mu took it and weighed it casually, frowning slightly, "It's three pounds heavier than yesterday. You two have worked hard."
"Senior Brother, this is our duty..." Zhang Lang had not finished being polite.
Only to see Chen Mu open the large wooden box, casually took out a small box, and pinched a pinch of the Essence of the Five Grains between his index finger and thumb to examine closely in front of his eyes.
Zhang Lang felt as if his heart jumped to his throat, freezing in place.
"Hmm, not bad." Chen Mu looked up, satisfied, and immediately saw Zhang and Li standing there petrified.
With "Ge Family's Annotation on Hundred Herbs," extracting the essence of Coix Seed Essence is not a problem.
"Although there is no Talisman to congeal the pills, perhaps other methods could be used as substitutes," Chen Mu looked at the items written on the grey wall.
Pharmaceutical Technique: 7997/10000/Fifth Rank;
"No rush, I'll see after I max out my Pharmaceutical Technique."
...
Late at night, Chen Mu, pretending to be exhausted, left the Alchemist Chamber and headed back to his living quarters.
As he walked, he came upon a building four to five hundred meters away.
"Isn't this Zhang Lang's residence?"
Looking at its brightly lit interior, Chen Mu couldn't help but sigh.
"No wonder that Zhang Lang is so proficient in the Five Elements Qi Absorption Technique."
"He turns out to be a hardworking person just like myself."
"Heaven rewards the diligent!"
He turned to leave. One must not disturb a hardworking person's effort.
But when he looked up at the sky, he saw a full moon hanging high.
Still awake at this hour could deplete one's very essence!
Such a good helper mustn't ruin his future due to excessive diligence!
"He still lacks experience," Chen Mu said with a smile and a shake of his head: "He needs to learn to balance work with rest."
With that thought, Chen Mu stepped forward, planning to share with him some tips on hard work and diligence.
But after only two steps, Chen Mu paused, as his ears, active with the Truthful Listening Technique, suddenly picked up three breathing sounds.
Visitors? Chen Mu looked at the sky in surprise.
Forget it, let's not disturb them.
Thinking so, Chen Mu turned to leave.
...
"The two of you need not worry," the man with the orange-peel face and gaunt figure reassured them with a smile.
"The vice dean told me that the Essence of the Five Grains, which had been tampered with, only contains a bit more impurities."
"It doesn't affect pill refinement and can even increase the pill formation rate. It's also safe for normal consumption."
"It will only affect the storage time of the pills."
Zhang Lang and Li Huan let out a big sigh of relief.
"In half a month, when the pills grow moldy and go bad, the good and the bad Fasting Pills will be mixed together."
"Everyone will think that Chen Mu made a bad batch of pills."
The man with the orange-peel face chuckled coldly.
"By then, no one can assure that the pills he made before were safe."
"Such a huge loss will not only force him to spew out all the Daoist Jade he's earned before but also make him pay until he's bankrupt!"
"What a great strategy from the dean!" Zhang Lang slapped his thigh, full of admiration.
Outside the main building, Chen Mu, who returned out of concern for Zhang Lang's health, had this to say: "..."
Here I was, wanting to advise you on regular habits and taking care of your health.
And you're scheming against me behind my back?!
No wonder I unknowingly walked over here.
It must be that Heaven is reminding me there's a villian causing trouble!
What does this mean?
It means Heaven wants me to act on its behalf!
"Did I not want to get involved?" Chen Mu sighed deeply, his face a picture of difficulty.
What a pity...
Heaven's will cannot be defied!